Alexandria, Virginia: History
=== Early history ===
According to archaeologists' estimates, a succession of indigenous peoples began to occupy the Chesapeake and Tidewater region about 3,000 to 10,000 years ago. Various Algonquian-speaking peoples inhabited the lands in the Potomac River drainage area since at least the early 14th century.
In the summer of 1608, English settler John Smith explored the Potomac River and came into contact with the Patawomeck (loosely affiliated with the Powhatan) and Doeg tribes who lived on the Virginia side, as well as on Theodore Roosevelt Island, and the Piscataway (also known as the Conoy), who resided on the Maryland side. On this visit, Smith recorded the presence of a settlement called Assaomeck near the south bank of what is now Hunting Creek.
On October 21, 1669, a patent granted 6,000 acres (24 km2) to Robert Howsing for transporting 120 people to the Colony of Virginia; this land would eventually become Alexandria. Virginia's comprehensive Tobacco Inspection Law of 1730 mandated that all tobacco grown in the colony must be brought to locally designated public warehouses for inspection before sale. One of the sites designated for a warehouse on the upper Potomac River was at the mouth of Hunting Creek. After the original site south of the creek was deemed "very inconvenient", the warehouse was built at West's Point to the north. This land had been given to John Alexander and Hugh West by John's father Robert Alexander. Robert's cousin, Philip Alexander, owned a 500 acres (2.0 km2) estate to the south, which was bounded by Hunting Creek, Hooff's Run, the Potomac River, and the future Cameron Street.
In 1742, Fairfax County was split from Prince William County. Local planters and merchants, including Thomas Fairfax and Lawrence Washington, sought to establish a port for the new county. At the opening of Virginia's 1748–49 legislative session, the House of Burgesses received a petition on November 1, 1748 that stated that the "inhabitants of Fairfax (Co.) praying that a town may be established at Hunting Creek Warehouse on Potowmack River". Lawrence's younger brother George Washington, an aspiring surveyor, made a sketch of the shoreline touting the advantages of the tobacco warehouse site. Opponents of the warehouse site submitted a petition asking for the small settlement of Cameron along Hunting Creek to be selected instead. Both of these original petitions were rejected by the House of Burgesses.
John West, Fairfax County surveyor, laid-out 60 acres (assisted by 17-year-old George Washington).On May 2, 1749, the House of Burgesses approved the river location and ordered "Mr. Washington do go up with a Message to the Council and acquaint them that this House have agreed to the Amendments titled An Act for erecting a Town at Hunting Creek Warehouse, in the County of Fairfax". A "Public Vendue" (auction) was advertised for July, and the county surveyor laid out street lanes and town lots. The auction was conducted on July 13–14, 1749. The Fairfax County Court began meeting in Alexandria's Market Square in 1752. …